The Renewable VirginYou Have the Right to Remain SilentThe Apostrophe ThiefFare PlayFull Frontal Murder

I don't think that any of these are readily available over here, so it was great to get a pile of them. I checked the publication dates to make sure I would read them in the right order. Just as well, as it turns out!

Barbara, your books are excellent for reading on long aeroplane journeys! I'm just starting Fare Play. I may have a question or two when I've finished the lot of them ...

The fact that my books are not easy to find in England reminded me of something that happened about a decade ago. An Englishwoman wrote to me that her local library was so small you needed a magnifying glass to read the budget. So at her own expense, she'd photocopied one of my books and donated the photocopy to the library. She was so proud of what she'd done and so pleased to be able to "help" me that I didn't have the heart to tell her what she'd done was illegal. I'm surprised the librarian accepted it, though.

Originally posted by Barbara:something that happened about a decade ago ... [snip] ... I'm surprised the librarian accepted it, though.

Certainly many libraries (including that of the University of Leeds) were pretty lax about copyright infringements until about a decade ago when the Copyright Licensing Agency started flexing its muscles. And "the librarian" may have been an unqualified assistant, but alarm bells could easily have rung further up the hierarchy when the "book" was presented for cataloguing.

I was lucky enough to happen upon Barbara's work when a ton of her books were easily available in paperback (the late 1980s), and I grabbed 'em all then, and was able to keep up and get the hardbacks as new ones appeared.

I know that mystery bookstore in Seattle, and will be visiting it next week, you may be sure. The plentiful supply of good bookstores is one of Seattle's chief claims to being a civilized city; I have a whole circuit that I visit.

And the Caruso books saw me through my flight to Bayreuth in 1988.

Andrew, those titles will cover the Kelly Ingram saga pretty well, but I hope you can pick up The Fourth Wall someday so you can get properly introduced to Abby.

I love The Renewable Virgin; it's one that I've enjoyed rereading several times (and a great title).

I've finished all five now, and will marshall my thoughts and post some thoughts over the weekend, probably after I've finished the last Sarah Caudwell, which I also picked up in Seattle. I thought each book was better than its predecessor, actually, though only in Full Frontal Murder did I work out whodunnit before Marian Larch did - quite a bit before, in fact.

In the Mystery Bookshop, by the way, Barbara, were two odd-looking vols labelled "uncorrected proof copy, not for sale under any circumstances". They cost somewhat more than the copies I bought.

As for the opera mysteries, I was thinking of trying for second-hand copies online.

For as highly populated a book as FFM is, there's a distressing scarcity of suspects. I tried to make it not too obvious, but...oh well.

Quote:

Originally posted by Andrew:[B]In the Mystery Bookshop, by the way, Barbara, were two odd-looking vols labelled "uncorrected proof copy, not for sale under any circumstances". They cost somewhat more than the copies I bought.[B]

Those were Advance Reading Copies that are sent out to booksellers and reviewers, to help them decide whether they want to sell/review the book by the time it is officially released. Even though the publishers forbid their sale, they're sold all the time. The Seattle bookstore owner probably just put a price tag on his own ARCs, or maybe he picked them up at an auction somewhere. Personally, I don't see why anyone would want an ARC instead of a finished copy.

Originally posted by Barbara:Personally, I don't see why anyone would want an ARC instead of a finished copy.

Once in a while there's no alternative. I was unable to find a copy of Robert Barnard's Death and the Chaste Apprentice to buy (this was 8-10 years ago, before the 'net made specialized shopping easier), as there was no US paperback and the hardcover was out of print. But the mystery bookstore in Bethesda Maryland (gone within the last year *sob* though I think its branch in DC remains) had it on its "uncorrected proofs" shelf. Rather pricey for what it was, but at least I was able to obtain a copy that way. That's the only time I've done it.